Mail-transferring apparatus.



H. 1. H LAFLECHE. MAIL TRANSFERRING APPARATUS. APPucATloN FILED sEPT.22. me.

y Patented Aug.. 7,1917.

ATToRNEv 'TED STATES ATENT @mss v l HERMENEGILDE J. H. LAFLECHE, oF cAssnLivrAN, ONTARIO, CANADA.

MAIL-TRANSFERRING lAPrARA'LUs.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HERMENEGILDE J. H. LAFLEcnE, a subject of the King'of Great Britain, residing at Casselman, in the Province of Ontario, and Dominionof Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-TransferringApparatus, of which the following is a specication. This invention relates to a transferring apparatus designed to be used in connection with railway mail service for automatically and simultaneously interchanging mail sacks between a moving train and the 'station and betweentwo moving trains without danger of injuring the sacks or their contents.

This invention is designed to provide a sack carrier to be used in connection with a collecting and delivering head both on the train and on the station apparatus, which carrier Vwhen supported from one head will be in proper position for collection by the other head, whether the latter be on a moving train or at the station.

With this as the principal object in view the invention consists of the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts set forth in the following "specification,

pointed out in the appended claim and illusl trated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a mail sack transferring apparatus showing the positions of the sack carriers on the train and station supports just previous to transferring the sacks,

Fig. 2 is an end view of the station apparatus and sack carrier as seen from the right of Fig. 1z j Fig. 3 is a similar view of the apparatus and carrier used on the car and viewed from the same point.

In the drawings 10 indicates a portion of a mail car through the door 11 of which a swinging horizontal arm 12 is adapted to be projected. This arm as shown has a vertical stem 14 on its inner end that turns freely in two loops or eyes 15 secured one above the other to the door frame of the car and within the car. A shoulder 16 on the stem 14 just below the arm 12 rests upon the upper loop or eye 15 when the arm is in its lowermost position and forms the bearing upon which said arm may be swung into or out of the car.

Fixed against the outer face of the door frame is ahook 17 that projects inwardly Specification" of Letters Patent beyond the side of the door andwhich engages the arm 12 holding it in its extended position against the door frame perpenj Patented Aug. 7, 191'?.-y

Applieaton led September 22, l1916. Serial No. 121,662. Y

delivering andreceiving head 20, from the opposite ends of which projectV fingers 21 and 23, respectively. f A similar collecting and vdelivering head 20a is pivoted upon the outer end of an arm 33Y rigidly mounted upon a vertical post 34 and projecting horizontally from said post. f f

For the purpose of suspending one or more mail sacks from one of said heads in order thatv it maybe collected by the'other as the train passes a station, there is provided a rod 36 forked at its lower end as at 37 the ends of the latter terminating in eyes connected by a loosely hanging chain 38. One

end of the chain is fixedto one of saideyes andthe other end provided with the snap hook 39 removably connected to the other eye. This chain is passed through a strap handle provided on all mail sacks and a snag1 hook connected to the eye on fork 37 so t at the mail sack A will be suspended from the chain. If desired rtwo or more sacks may be hung from the chain as is evident. is provided with a flattened portion 40 from opposite sides of which project studs 41 and 42, the studs 41 being inline with each other as are the studs 42. The studs 41 and 42 on each side are diagonally disposed with relation to each other, being spaced vertically a distance equal to the thickness or diameter of the arms 21 and 23 and horizontally spaced suliciently far to oifsetrthem from the vertical center of the rod 36. The upper end of the rod terminates in a ball 43.

In using this apparatus to transfer mail sacks between a moving train and a station,

the arm 12 being within the car is, upon ap- Just above the fork 37 the rod 36.

preaching a station, swung outwardly and raised slightly in order to engage it with the hook 17 that holds the arm in extended position.- Before swinging the arm outwardly a sack carrying rod 36 with a mail sack attahd theretO is, IIlQllIltd lIl the head 20 by pushing the flattened portion 40 of the rod 36 between the fingers 2l so that the studs l1 will lie above the lingers and support the rod and sack, while the studs 4:2 extend outwardly below said fingers. In

Aplacing the rod between the fingers 2la care must be taken that the studs ll will be in advance of or toward the direction oi' Inovement of the train, see Fig. l, so that normally the weight of the bag tends to swing the upper end of arm 36 rearwardly, the studs ill acting as a pivot7 but owing to the pressure of the air against theV sack caused by the moving train, the rod 36 is held in vertical position and prevented from rocking or tilting in the opposite direction by the studs 42 which bear upon the under side of the fingers 21.

A similar rod 36 having one ormore mail sacks attached theretois suspended from the lingers 21 of the head 2 02l at a station, the iixed position of the arm 33 supporting the head 20a being such as to maintain said head at a higher elevation than the head 20 on the car lO. The rod 36, however, is sufficiently long between the ball 43 and the studs 4l to cause the studs to hang below the fingers 23 of the opposite head when the rod is operatively suspended by the ball, and thus enable said rod with the sacks attached to be collected, notwithstanding any vertical rocking of the car, and sustained after collection by the ball. It will not be necessary'to provide against swinging of the bag and rod the station because the support at such point being fixed the strength of the normal wing against the bag will rarely be sufficient to cause any noticeable movement of the rod. The collecting fingers of both heads, it will be seen, will support the rods by the balls after the transferring operation has taken place.

As the head 20 approaches the head 20, the ends of the fingers 23 of each head pass on opposite sides of the rod 36 supported by the opposite head and remove the mail sack carriers from their supporting heads. The arm 12 will then be swung into the car and the sacks removed.

`What I claim is:

In a mail transferring apparatus, means for holding mail sacks comprising a rod having a forked lower end with an eye at the terminal of each branch, a spherical upper end7 and a flattened section therebetween, a pair of supporting studs projecting in alinement from each side of rsaid flattened portion in different' vertical and horizontal planes, and a flexible connection between the branches of the 'forked lower end of the rod from which to hang mail sacks.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

. HERMENEeiLDE J. i1. LAFLEGHE.

Witnesses i G. PLLAFLGHE, J. J. LAFLOHE.

Copies of this patent'may be obtained for five cents eaoh,'by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. f 

